Will the U.S. Join Canada and Germany in Ahmadinejad Walkout?

Canada and Germany have apparently head enough of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust-denying rants and virulent anti-Semitism. The Canadian government is planning to protest his presence at the UN today by having their entire delegation walking out of the chamber when Ahmadinejad takes the podium:

Canada will boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the United Nations today, saying his outbursts about the Holocaust and Israel are “shameful.”

Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon will be at the world body to attend the opening of the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, but officials signal he and other members of the Canadian delegation will vacate when the Islamic republic’s president approaches the podium.

Walking out of the chamber is seen as a strong diplomatic show of disgust at the UN — and since the 192-member chamber is generally packed on the first day of the annual summit, Canada’s empty seats will not go unnoticed.

“President Ahmadinejad’s repeated denial of the Holocaust and his anti-Israel comments run counter to the values of the UN General Assembly, and they’re shameful,” said one Canadian official.

“He uses his public appearances to provoke the international community, and that is why Canada’s seats will be empty.”

Germany is taking a slightly softer line and has called on other European nations to join it’s walkout if Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust or goes one of of his anti-Semitic rants:

The German Foreign Ministry has called on other European Union countries to join its walkout if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, or makes anti-Semitic statements in his speech at the annual debate of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Last week the Iranian president called the Holocaust a lie during an anti-Israel rally in Tehran. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned Ahmadinejad’s latest denial, calling him a disgrace to his country.

The Holocaust claimed the lives of over six million Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Denying the genocide is a crime in Germany.

The only question is will U.S. delegation have the courage and moral clarity to join them? I doubt it, as Ed Morrissey notes the Obama Administration “… wants talks [with Iran] so badly that the White House has shown no inclination to react to Ahmadinejad’s bigotry.”